Panthertown Valley, part of the Nantahala National Forest, is 10,000 acres of some of the finest natural beauty the southern Appalachians has to offer. This high elevation valley boasts dozens of waterfalls and mountains which contain some of the highest cliff faces in the region. All but unknown a decade ago the area has now lost its 'hidden gem' status but still provides enough rugged backcountry to keep it from feeling overcrowded. The most difficult aspect of visiting the valley is deciding just where to go. Every trail provides access to some sort of natural wonder so return trips are mandatory if you want to experience all that Panthertown has to offer.

Despite essentially being right out my back door (a 20 minute drive from my home at the time) I have explored an embarrassingly small portion of the valley up to this point. It's a hiking deficit that I am determined to correct in the near future. This hike to Little Green Mountain (4,040'), one of the natural highlights to any visit to Panthertown, would mark my first foray into the backcountry of this amazing valley. This 5-mile loop would take me over the stunning open cliff faces of Little Green itself and past one of the valley's most popular and photogenic waterfalls. It promised to be a great hike that would only feed my desire to experience more of this remarkable place...

I contemplated trying to cross the creek along one of Panthertown's infamous unofficial trails, to shorten my climb a bit, but quickly thought better of it as time constraints wouldn't permit me getting lost today...

Arriving at the Big Green/Mac's Gap Trail junction. With a bit more time I could have made the relatively quick jaunt to the left to the top of Big Green Mountain, rather I had to continue on the Mac's Gap Trail to the right...

The Little Green Trail only has to climb about 300 or so feet to get to the summit, even so I had a hard time imagining along this gradual grade that I was climbing a peak of any interest whatsoever...

AS I neared the cliffs I passed a few small openings in the forest with multiple trails leading off of them. I managed to stay on the right one but, as I was soon to find, it isn't hard to get off-track on this peak...

I could have spent a lot more time exploring the cliffs but a couple wrong turns earlier had eaten into my time allowance so with a great deal of regret I turned my back on Tranquility Point and focused on getting down...